1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette in which an ink ribbon is held or to a printing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dye sublimation printers perform printing by transferring dye applied to an ink ribbon to a sheet, which is an example of a recording medium, by pressing the recording medium and the ink ribbon against each other using a thermal head and a platen roller, passing an electric current through the thermal head so that a heat generator on the thermal head generates heat, and then sublimating the dye with the heat.
The ink ribbon is held in an ink ribbon cassette for facilitating attachment or removal of the ink ribbon to or from a printer body. The ink ribbon cassette is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the printer body. In the ink ribbon cassette, cylindrical supply bobbin and take-up bobbin, around which an ink ribbon is wound, are held. The supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin are rotatably held in the ink ribbon cassette.
The ink ribbon cassette is mounted on the printer body in such a manner that the thermal head is located between the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin. Printing is performed by pressing the thermal head and the platen roller against each other in a state where the ink ribbon and a sheet overlap each other.
For high definition printing, the ink ribbon has to be stably transported inside the ink ribbon cassette. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-119126, an ink ribbon pulled out from a supply bobbin is guided by a guide shaft that has a laterally long stick shape and then wound around the take-up bobbin after the direction in which the ink ribbon is pulled out is changed by approximately 90°, whereby the ink ribbon is stably transported.